mark jackson on draymond green (Photo: LetsGoWarriors.com Instagram account)
WARRIORS PRACTICE FACILITY, OAKLAND, CA — Golden State Warriors head coach Mark Jackson and power forward Draymond Green have a special relationship. Not only do they share similar Christian views, but also their approach to the game of basketball is very congruent with one another.
While Green was once disappointed not being selected as a draft pick in the first round, he says it has been a blessing.
“It was a blessing in disguise because I don’t think I could’ve come to a better situation,” Green said yesterday after practice, “One thing Coach has helped me out with is, I always grew up in the church, so it was always there — the foundation was there — but there was a turning point. There’s people put in everyone’s life for different reasons and it really showed me how much further I could take my walk with Christ, how much deeper I can go with someone in life.”
“All pastors can’t relate to you,” Green added, “but he really can relate to me in just about every situation and I’m thankful to have someone like that in my life. When I get someone like that, he’s not sitting over there waiting on me to come talk to him. If I see him over there, I’ll go pick his brain because you never know how long those opportunities are going to be there. So I just go and try and soak in that information.”
“He’s one my deacons,” Jackson joked while explaining how he’s often seen after practice talking to Green on the trainer’s table, “I’ve said it before, if he quits today, he has a job with me tomorrow. He does an outstanding job of understanding the mindset, understanding the game plan, understanding the pulse of the team and everything involved, delivering messages and also holding himself accountable.”
Grant Cohn covered some of Green’s talents recently in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
“You have to figure out what people respond to. There are some players you may need to yell at. That fires them up. I used to be a guy who just yelled in high school and when I first got to college. I figured out that certain guys didn’t respond well to yelling. They would completely shut down on you.
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“When they shut down, you have to double-back and make sure you smooth it out. I have to pull him to the side and say, ‘This is what we need you to do. Come on, let’s get it done.’ Or some guys, you have to go up to them and say, ‘Hey, man, he can’t guard you. You’re better than him.’
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“There were times when Coach Izzo would yell at a guy and I knew that guy couldn’t handle yelling, so I would get into an argument with Coach Izzo just to take the heat off of the player. Coach Izzo wants someone firing back at him, so I would throw myself into it to get Coach Izzo off my guy. If Coach Izzo kept yelling at him, I knew we’d lose him for the rest of the game. So I would throw myself under the bus to get Coach Izzo yelling at me because I can handle yelling. It doesn’t bother me.
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“Now I’ve come to the Warriors, and I’ve had to figure out how to lead with these guys. If I need to tell a coach something that happened on the court, how do I approach that coach? How do I approach David Lee? How do I approach Klay Thompson? How do I approach Marreese Speights? How do I approach Andrew Bogut? How do I approach Steph Curry?”
“First thing you gotta do as a leader is hold yourself accountable,” Jackson explained, “Then it puts you in position to hold others accountable and to be able to have a healthy dialogue with other people. He wants to soak in knowledge and he wants to be great, not only today as a player, but also, God willing, as a coach down the road.”
The two don’t mind trading a few friendly barbs at times.
After Green had a little extra fun celebrating his dunk in the victory against the Chicago Bulls, Jackson gave Green a little jab.
“I had to hear about it. That was in the middle of church service over there (talking on the trainer’s table). He let me know about it. I mess with him everyday about his jumping ability,” Jackson said, “Here he is running off of the screen on SportsCenter with his mouth wide open like he just made the play of the century.”
Green counter-punched yesterday after the team landed in Phoenix. He, Kent Bazemore, Stephen Curry, and Nemanja Nedovic set up Jackson for a #dunkcam video clip, reminiscent of the San Francisco 49ers‘ wide receiver Quinton Patton‘s posts during the NFL season, on Instagram:
The kidding aside, Jackson has the utmost respect for Green.
“We fall in love with (Stephen Curry’s) shooting ability and totally disregard the sacrifice that Draymond made getting him open,” Jackson added, “I think (Warriors fans) have an appreciation for it. He’s a joy to coach and joy to be around.”
Jackson also has Green’s respect.
“I think he’s a great up-and-coming coach. For him to reach that milestone (one hundred wins as of the victory over the Bulls Thursday night), especially after winning only 23 games his first year, that’s solid,” Green said, “Of course, it’s not something that he’s gonna jump around and hooray about, but at the end of the day, when you do this, you have team goals and you have personal goals. Personal goal for a Coach is tally up those wins and it’s great for him to get to one hundred. I’m definitely proud of him, but of course he’s looking further away ahead than just a hundred wins.”
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